Rotary engine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. W. BILLINGS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 363,719. Patented May 24, 1887.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. W. BILLINGS. ROTARY ENGINE. No. 363,719. Patented May 24, 1887..

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(No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet a.

A. W. BILLINGS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 363,719. Patented May 24,1887.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AVERY \V. BILLINGS, OF LARNED, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO ARTHUR T. BILLINGS AND WILLIAM BlLLlNGS, BOTH OF JETMORE, KANSAS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,719, dated May 24, 1887.

Appicatinn filed December 16, 1886. Serial hid-221,748. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AVERY W. BILLINGS, a citizen of the United States of America, rc-

siding at Larned, in the county ofPawnee and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompany ing drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon,wl1ieh form a part ofthis specification. This invention relates to rotary engines.

The object of theinvcntion is to simplify the construction and operation of devices of this class, thereby 1naterially decreasing the cost.

To this end the invention consists in novel arrangements and constructions, which will be fully described in the ensuing specification, and set forth in the claims at the close thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through the cylinder and piston taken at right angles to the piston-shaft. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on linexx,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section taken on line y Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the engine. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the cam disks. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the folding gates with its operatingcrank. Figs. 7 and. 8 are detail perspectives of one of the pitman-abutments.

The enginecylinder rests upon a base, A, and is composed of an annular shell, 13, and heads 0 O, fitted steam-tight. In the drawings I have represented the base A as formed integral with the ring A; but it will be understood that it may be otherwise. The heads 0 .yo 0 are provided centrally with outwardly-extending hubs forming bearings for the shaft D of the annular piston D. This piston is arranged concentrically within the annular shell B of the cylinder, with its edges fitting closely against the cylinder-heads U G, and the hub d of the piston is fitted closely between the cylinder-heads O O, and is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to .its shaft, any suitable form of packing being used to prevent any escape of steam between the piston and cylinderheads and through the shaft-bearings.

The shell B of the cylinder is provided at opposite points with recesses I) to receive abutments B B", pivoted between the heads 0 G, and adapted to bridge thestcam-space between the shell B and the piston D. The shafts of these abutments B 13" are extended through the cylinder head O and fitted with crankarms 0 b, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The engine illustrated in the drawings is represented as having two of these abutments B 13 arranged on opposite sides of the cylinder and just in advance of the two oppositely;arranged steam-induction ports 0 c in the cylinder-head O, the cduction or exhaust ports a 0 being also arranged opposite each other and in a plane at right angles to the plane of the induction ports 0 c. The piston D is provided with three radial projections, d d d, which I shall hereinafter 7o term pistouheads, moving in contact with the shell B and heads 0 O of the cylinder.

Opposite the head 0 of the cylinder is a disk, E, keyed to the projecting end of the shaft D, said disk being provided with a cam 7 groove, 6, facing said head to receive the outer end of the crank-arms Z) I) of the hinged abutments B B another cam-disk, F, beingkeyed to the opposite end of the shaft D to actuate a valve-lever, G, controlling steam-valves (not 8c shown) in the branches h h of steam-pipe H. The cam-disk F is so constructed and arranged with relation to the pistonheads d d d that steam will be admitted through branch h of the steam-pipe H and port 0 just as one or 8 5 the other of the piston heads has passed said port, and through branch h and port cjust as piston-heads pass latter port, the valve-stem 9 being shifted from side-to side by the camdisk F and valve-lever G, according to the po- 0 sition'of the pistoirheads. Vhile these actions are taking place, and just before a pistonhead reaches one or the other of the hinged abutments B B", the latter will be alternately turned,through the agency ofcrank-arms Z) b 5 and cam-disk E, to lie closely within the re cess b of the cylinder-shell B, thus permitting the free passage of said piston-head, when the abutment will be again turned to bridge the steam spacc between the eylinder shell l3 and. rco the piston. To illustrate,we will suppose that the piston is traveling in'the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. In the position shown,steam has just been shut off from branch h of the steam-pipe and induetionport c and admitted through branch h and port 0. The steam,being confined between abutment B and piston head (1 and between abutment B" and pistonhead (1 will impel said piston-heads toward the exhaust ports 0 c and as the piston-head (1 reaches the abutment 13 the latter will be turned by cam-disk E and crank-arm I) back into recess 1), thus permitting the piston-head to pass. Piston-head (1 having passed abutment E the latter will be again turned to bridge the steam-space, when steam will be shut off from port 0, admitted through port 0, and exhausted through ports 0 0.

The inner surfaces of the heads 0 O and shell B of the cylinder vare cut away slightly between the exhaust-port c and the adjacent abutment B and between port 0 and abutment 13 as shown at B Fig. 1, to permit the piston-heads to traverse this space without friction, and also to permit the escape of exhaust steam from in front of a piston-head as it approaches the abutment; but between abutment B and port 0 and between abutment ]3' and port 0 the cylinder-heads are provided with packings G", in contact with which the edges of the piston travel.

Each piston head consists of two angleboxes, I, a coupling-plate, I, and a packing, I. These boxes I are triangular in cross sec tion, their outer edges, 2', terminating in sharp angles, as shown, and the inner bottom corners having perforated lugs to receive the pivot-pin by whichthey are connected to the couplingplate I. Two of these boxes I being coupled together by the plate I, a packing of suitable size, shape, and material (preferably asbestus) is inserted between the vertical sides of the two boxes. The piston-heads are nowapplied to the piston by inserting their outer sharp edges, '5, beneath the overhanging edges or walls of transverse dovetailed grooves d" in the face of the piston, passing clamping-bolts t" through apertures in said piston and securing the nuts i. As the packing 1 becomes worn by friction against the shell of the cylinder, it may be adjusted by tightening up the nuts i thus drawing the vertical sides of the boxes nearer together and compressing the packing more tightly.

It is intended thatthe base of the pistonheads shall not rest upon the surface of the piston ordinarily, but be bowed upwardtherefro1n,said heads being held firm] y in place by the engagement of their outer corners beneath the overhanging walls of the grooves 11 and by the bolts 2'. N ow, as the packing held between the vertical faces of the respective heads becomes worn, the nuts 6 are turned upon the bolts i to draw the coupling-plate I at the eenter of each head nearer to the surface of the piston, thus causing the sharp outer edges, 1', of the heads to move asunder and further beneath the overhanging edges of the groove, and also causing the vertical faces or sides of the two boxes composing each head to approach each other, thus compressing the packing held between said faces and forcing it outward toward the cylinder-heads and shell.

I claim- I 1. In a rotary engine, the combination of the cylinder provided at opposite points with induction-ports and hinged abutments adjacent thereto, the exhaust-ports arranged oppositely and in a plane vertical to the plane of the induction-ports, and the piston provided with heads arranged as shown with relation to each other, substantially as described.

2. The combination ofthe cylinder provided at opposite points with induction ports and recesses abreast said ports, the exhaust-ports arranged oppositely and in a plane vertical to the induction-ports, the piston provided with heads, and the hinged abutments constructed to bridge the steam-space in the cylinder orto fold within the recesses of said cylinder, sub stantially as described.

3. The combination of the cylinder, the piston having heads, induetionports arranged at opposite points in the cylinder-head, the exhaust-ports arranged oppositely and in aplane vertical to the plane of the induction ports, and the hinged abutments, the cylinder being cut away, as at 13, substantially asand for the purpose stated.

4. The combination, substantially as described, of the cylinder with its ports and abutments, the piston having heads, the camdisk E, to rotate the abutments, and the can1- disk F, controlling the admission of steam to the ports of the cylinder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AVERY W. BILLINGS.

Vitnesses:

W. H. BROWN, E. WV. BILLINGs. 

